Australia 1925-S sovereign
This specimen was lot 32278 in Heritage sale 3089 (Dallas, TX, January 2021), where it sold for $961.20. The catalog description[1] noted, "Australia. George V gold Sovereign 1925-S MS65 NGC, Sydney mint. An especially nice example of this Sydney issue, solidly gem with only minute contact marks and uniformly pale-gold surfaces. Tied with two others as the finest certified by NGC." This type was struck 1911-28 at the Sydney, Melbourne and Perth mints. The Perth mint was used mostly to strike sovereigns. It issued other denominations only sporadically before it closed in 1964. The Australian sovereign is identical to the ordinary British sovereign in every respect except for the addition of a mintmark, which will be found buried in the rock below the dragon on the reverse. As British issues effectively ceased after 1916, Australian sovereigns of George V are quite a bit more common. A slightly modified type (KM 32) was struck 1929 until 1931, when gold coinage ceased altogether.
Recorded mintage: 5,632,000, a common date.
Specification: 7.98 g, 0.917 fine gold, 0.2355 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: KM 29, S-4003, Fr-38.
- McDonald, Greg, The Pocket Guide to Australian Coins and Banknotes, 23rd ed., Lavington, Australia, 2017.
- Pitt, Michael, Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values, 32nd Edition, Matraville, New South Wales, Australia: Renniks Publications, 2023.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage Auction 3089: NYINC World & Ancient Coins Platinum & Signature Auction - Dallas, featuring the Cape Coral Collection of European Crowns and the Penn Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2020.
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